Make It Quick
by xdistantxdreamsx
Summary: Don't let her fool you...kill you when she gets the chance...not worth it... Death Scythe closed the mirror message and looked to the Shingami. Well, Shingami-sama? Silence; until he murmured, I guess we're going to have to take our chances. DISCONTINUED!
1. Rise and Shine

Shingami's room was slowly being filled with the young meisters and weapons of Shibusen. In the early morning hours no one seemed to have much energy.

Kilik was standing in corner of the room watching Fire and Thunder chase each other around, giggling all the while. Ox and Harvar were having a half-hearted conversation off to the side about the atomic makeup of weapons. Soul and Maka were standing beside each other near the doorway, obviously half-asleep. Maka was slouched slightly to the side and her emerald eyes were closed.

"Why the hell did we have to get up this early in the morning? I'm exhausted…" Soul couldn't resist a hefty yawn and threw his arms up into the air. Maka opened her eyes and glanced over at her partner with an annoyed air to her movement. She lifted up a large black book and gave him one of her famous Maka Chops and then closed her eyes again.

Soul recoiled and crouched down, rubbing his head irritably. He grumbled something about this being a waste of his sleeping time, only to be stopped by another silent glare from his meister.

"Father ordered us to come to his mirror, so it must be important." The pair looked over to Death the Kid just as he walked in, Liz and Patty flanking him as he entered. "He didn't even tell _me_ what this is all about…"

A moment later, Tsubaki and Black Star also entered. But of course, Black Star couldn't help but be the center of attention. He lifted his fist into the air and announced, "The Great Black Star is here! Bow down before me, for I shall surpass even God!" Tsubaki blushed slightly from her perch beside him and gave a teeny smile.

"Goood morning! Goody, it looks like you're all here!" The kids turned towards the mirror to see the Shingami bouncing inside of it. He pointed an oversized white finger into the air.

"Now, you're probably all wondering why I called you here oh-so early, hm?" The Shingami was greeted by silence and a small snore from Soul. Maka gave Soul another Maka Chop, and he was immediately awakened. The Shingami paused and then continued on cheerfully.

"I think it's time you meet a new student of Shibusen! She's come all the way from New York!"

Black Star frowned at the aspect of someone stealing his spotlight. He immediately shouted, "Just who is so important that we have to be woken up in the middle of the night just to meet them? The great Black Star needs to rest if he is to ascend to godhood!"

Shingami took his arm out of the mirror and gave Black Star a Shingami Chop over the head. Black Star shouted in protest and clutched his head. "Oi! Don't -" Kid came up behind him and rested his hand on his shoulder. "Just listen to him. Father wouldn't do this unless it was a big deal."

"No one's a bigger deal than me…" grumbled Black Star, brushing Kid's hand off his shoulder and folding his arms across his chest.

But it seemed no one had heard him, for their eyes were all locked onto a new arrival. Death Scythe had just entered with his hands shoved into his pant pockets, but it wasn't him that interested the students.

An attractive girl in her mid-teens was crouched on the top of the doorway arch, her long silver hair swaying below her face from the sudden leap. She looked at Black Star and narrowed her scarlet eyes critically.

"Says you, kid."


	2. Bring It!

Before anyone could say anything, the newcomer jumped down from her roost atop the doorway and landed gracefully on all fours. She straightened up and tossed her hair back with a quick exhale of breath. She looked around and then locked her gaze on the Shingami's mirror.

The girl's attire was sparse, in a manner that somewhat resembled Maka's. She sported a tight, short grey-black sleeveless dress with a ragged hem. Fishnets covered the skin of her chest and upper arms. At her elbows started loose black sleeves that barely covered her hands. She wore laced black boots that went almost all the way up to her knees.

Her eyes still narrowed slightly, she took a step forward and bowed before the Shingami's mirror.

"Shingami-sama, it's a pleasure. Thank you for allowing me to enroll here at Shibusen. I am eternally grateful for this chance to prove my worth to you."

Shingami nodded. "Hmm, it's quite good to see you too, Ebony." He looked up to address the melee of Shibusen students. Ebony stood up straight again and nonchalantly turned around to face the group.

"Everyone, this is Ebony Sierra. Please introduce yourselves to her."

One by one, the students introduced themselves along with their partners. Ebony examined each one with a critical eye, as if sizing them up.

"Ebony is enrolling here as a meister. At the moment, she does not have a weapon of any sort. I hope you will all fully cooperate with her."

A few hushed murmurs broke out between the students. Kid then raised his voice a bit louder than the others and looked to his father.

"So when is she going to get a weapon? She can't remain so vulnerable like this," Ebony's eye twitched when he said vulnerable, "now that Asura is loose and Arachnophobia is plotting against Shibusen."

Shingami started to say something, but Ebony rebutted, "Ex_cuse_ me? I'm perfectly capable of kicking anyone's ass if they try and mess with me, thank you very much."

"But don't you think that you'd stand a whole lot better chance of surviving if you had a weapon?" Soul had finally shaken off his tiredness and questioned Ebony, no emotion clinging to his tone of voice. He slipped his hands into his pockets and gave her one of his classic Soul stares.

Ebony's eyes darted from Kid to Soul at the bold statement. She gritted her teeth but said nothing. She seemed infuriated but was keeping herself from saying any more. She closed her eyes and exhaled, then opened them again.

"Uh, yeah. I guess ya got a point there."

Black Star, seizing his chance to grab the spotlight again, hollered, "Hey, what's with the sweet act all of a sudden? What's up with you?"

Ebony turned her head to Black Star and the anger she had been holding back was let loose. She clenched her fists and retorted, "What's up with _you_? And you claim to be better than God? Ha! I could kick your ass any day."

Black Star put one hand on his waist, pointed a finger at Ebony, and shouted, "Hahaha! The great Black Star will surpass even God! And to prove it to you, I will beat you to a bloody pulp! Right, Tsubaki?"

Tsubaki's face flushed; it was obvious she didn't want to get involved. But to please her meister she murmured happily, "Right!"

Ebony then shot back, "Oh, confident are we? You couldn't even lay a single punch on me if you tried!"

Kilik, Ox, Fire, Thunder, and Harvar watched the two argue, their heads moving back and forth as they observed the argument. Shingami sighed but didn't get involved. He simply watched them shout back and forth at each other.

Black Star took a step forward and growled, "Oh really? Then let's get it on! No weapons, just us and our fists. Or," he grinned and brushed his shoulder, "do you want to take that back?"

Ebony let out a _tch _noise and crossed her arms. "Bring it. But there's no way I'm gonna lose, kid." Black Star stomped a foot on the ground and roared, "Stop calling me kid!"

The crowd of people filed outside to watch the battle commence. Ebony had a huge grin on her face as she cracked her knuckles. Black Star simply stood there with his face partially hidden in his collar.

Soul walked up to Maka, who was watching the battle, and asked, "So who looks like a winner, Maka?"

Maka studied the two and replied, "Well, Ebony's soul wavelength is definitely larger. By far. But I don't know; no one here except maybe papa has seen this girl fight before."

She walked a few paces over to her father and asked, "Papa, have you ever seen Ebony fight?"

Death Scythe nodded grimly. "Yeah and just let me say this: she's a little firecracker of energy. She doesn't get tired out very easily." He paused and looked down on his daughter.

"But that doesn't necessarily mean that Black Star has no chance of winning. He just has to knock the breath out of her. Ebony doesn't take hits very well. That's one of the reasons why she agreed to come here; so she can fix those faults. Now hush, it looks like Black Star is going to start things up."

The crowd went silent as Black Star charged. Ebony finished cracking her knuckles and faced one hand out towards the charging Black Star. "I am _so_ ready for this."


	3. Make It Quick

Ebony quickly dodged Black Star's attack, launching herself into the air and then doing an aerial flip to the side in order to avoid another attack. She landed gracefully on the ground, her silver hair billowing madly.

She looked at Black Star as he charged her again and said, "Hold on a sec." She slipped an elastic band off of her wrist. When Black Star continued to approach, she simply jumped to the side and began to tie her hair in a loose ponytail.

Seeing this, Black Star shouted angrily, "This isn't the time to be doing your hair! You're supposing to be fighting me, goddamn it!"

He skidded to a halt and threw a punch at the girl, just narrowly missing her cheek as she inched backwards. Her mesmerizing eyes carefully scanned Black Star's face as he attempted to punch her again and again, failing every time.

Ebony continued to avoid the attacks, Black Star's fist just barely grazing the tip of her nose, until she decided to go on the offense.

Black Star aimed another punch at Ebony's face, but she merely grabbed his fist with two hands halfway to the target point. She struggled to hold it back, but she tried to act confident. She glanced over the tangle of hands to stare into his eyes.

"You can't beat me." Ebony's lips curled into a smug smile. "But I think you know that already."

Black Star smiled. And he kept smiling. Soon Ebony grew annoyed, his smiling face bothering her. She frowned, small lines creasing her forehead. "What's with the happy face?"

He didn't answer right away. "You're not as strong as you make yourself out to be, you know. Just look at your hands." Ebony glanced fleetingly at her hands. Beads of sweat were beginning to form on them, and they were shaking with the effort of holding off Black Star's brute force.

Black Star added, "And with both your hands busy, now you're vulnerable." Ebony grimaced. _Not good…_

Before she could react, Black Star laid a heavy punch down on her skull with his free hand. A loud cracking noise erupted from the affected area. Ebony's body crumpled at Black Star's feet.

A small dribble of blood leaked out of her mouth as she looked up -- with one eye closed -- at the grinning boy. She squeezed her eyes shut as he continuously kicked her in the chest. She feared her ribs would break if she didn't get up soon. But the searing pain spreading throughout her body was keeping her immobilized.

_A vision came to Ebony's mind as she floated out of consciousness. She couldn't quite make out what it was until her soul drifted close enough. A small girl was looking up at an older woman, her scarlet eyes holding back the flood gates that kept the tears from streaming out. She was crouched on the ground, quivering as the older woman's eyes glared critically down on the child._

_The woman whispered slowly, "I'll try to make it quick this time, m'kay?"_

_The woman kicked the child in the head, no emotion crossing over her face as the little girl cried out in anguish. The child squealed, "Momma, Momma! Stop it, Momma! Momma!"_

_Her voice cracked as she screamed, but her mother showed no mercy as she kicked the child over and over. Over and over. Even as the child's scalp began to produce blood, the ruthless torment continued until the child's soft cries stopped._

_The small girl slowly raised her head and looked into her mother's eyes, silent. The woman didn't say anything for a while, just stared at her mangled daughter._

"_I will never see you as my child if you grovel and beg like that. You take the punishment like a grown-up and bite your tongue. You hear me?! Never, ever lose Ebony. Otherwise, you're worthless to me."_

_Ebony's soul reached out to the girl, her arms spread out wide, attempting to embrace her. But her soul was slowly drifting away, leaving the girl all alone._

Ebony opened her eyes to find herself still being kicked. In a flash of fury she shot up into the air, a surprised Black Star following her with his eyes. She landed several yards away.

Black Star charged again. Ebony was slouched over, blood dripped all over her face and a black ring around her left eye. Her ponytail had become loose and now stray hairs floated in front of her face.

As Black Star charged, a crazed smile crawled across Ebony's porcelain pale face. A sudden jolt went through her body, seeming to electrify her.

When he got close enough, Ebony shoved her palm into his forehead. As she did so, it seemed Black Star was frozen in the moment.

She screamed in rage and pushed harder, steam rising from her hand. Eventually Black Star began to cry out in pain, his eyes growing large and starting to shake. He fell to the ground and clutched his head.

On the sidelines Death Scythe's face grimaced. _Crap…_ He quickly intervened in the battle, angry shouts coming from the audience. As Ebony attempted to lay another punch on Black Star's face, Sid, who had been watching the fight quietly, grabbed her shoulders and held her back.

Death Scythe bent down to inspect the still screaming Black Star. He gently removed the boy's hand from his forehead, his heartbeat growing faster as he took in the damage Ebony's bare fist had caused.

Upon Black Star's forehead was the imprint of Ebony's palm, branded onto his skin.


End file.
